Ski (Citrus Soda)

Time for a citrus soda:

Brand: Ski.

Origin: Breese, IL.

Purchase Place: "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," Jordan, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was a pretty typical "lemon lime" flavored soda, but with a little kick. The kick might be from the orange juice in the soda - first time I've seen that. It's a little heavier on the "lemon" flavor, but not too heavy. (It's NOT officially a "lemon lime" soda - it's just "citrus.") Not bad, but nothing groundbreaking either. Great retro logo design with the skier.

Oh, another random point: this isn't a soda where you expect caffeine. But it's caffeinated. I was going to have this 2 nights earlier, but when I saw it had caffeine in it, I figured I shouldn't have it at 9 p.m. This isn't a good or bad thing to me personally, but I just wanted to note the caffeine.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Howdy Cherry Jubilee

Time for something red and sweet...

Brand: Howdy Cherry Jubilee.

Origin: Mukilteo, WA.

Purchase Place: Frattallones Ace Hardware, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Imagine a liquified, non-syrupy maraschino cherry. THAT'S what it tastes like. This was sweet, tasty, and went down easy. It had a deep cherry flavor that was "richer" and smoother than normal cherry sodas (but it was far from a cream soda - don't even THINK cream soda with this). It was good, and my wife stole a lot of sips too.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Hippo Size Beverages Jumbo Root Beer

I cracked into this yesterday:

Brand: Hippo Size Beverages Jumbo Root Beer.

Origin: Mukilteo, Washington.

Purchase Place: Frattallones Ace Hardware, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This is one of the best root beers I've had in a long time. In fact, I actually got the shivers when I took my 3rd sip. Really. It's smooth, but it still has a deep, rich flavor that many smoother root beers are lacking. There's just a perfect punch of wintergreen at the end, but not too much. This was really, really, really good. As I got farther and farther into the bottle, I realized it might not be QUITE perfect, but it was so good that I still have to give it a 10. It was creamy, smooth, and had a lot of great flavor. I did not expect this from a soda with a hippo on the label.

Score: 10 out of 10!

"Chain Reaction" by Pepsi Max

Here's another random video: Pepsi Max made a fun/weird/not-really-soda-related video to ring in the new year:

Direct link: http://youtu.be/v7YQT6BCuAE

Kinda cool.  Totally random… but kinda cool.

Santa Cruz Organic Root Beer

I just cracked into this oddly skinny 10.5 ounce can of root beer:

Brand: Santa Cruz Organic Root Beer.

Origin: Chico, CA.

Purchase Place: "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," Jordan, MN.

Sweetener: Organic Evaporated Cane Juice.

Review: This was better than I thought it was going to be, but still not great. It had a strange sharpness to it - I think from the organic lemon juice on the label. (Lemon juice in a root beer? Not sure about that...) Speaking of the ingredients list, what is "organic root beer flavor?" Really, I'm asking. Where can you "grow" root beer flavor organically? What is that?!? Anyway, the sweetness was a little off, but it was OK overall. Different, but not great.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Jackson Hole Snake River Sarsaparilla

I grabbed this during a football game last weekend:

Brand: Jackson Hole Snake River Sarsaparilla.

Origin: Jackson, WY.

Purchase Place: "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," Jordan, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: It smelled deep and rich when I popped the top. And the first sip was ALL wintergreen. If you like a strong wintergreen soda, you'll love this. It was NEARLY too much for me, but it wasn't quite over the line. It's a good, earthy, rich, deep, wintergreen-y sarsaparilla. Try this one - it's different, but not in a bad way!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Frostie Diet Root Beer

I was grocery shopping with my sons the other day, and I came across a 99 cent deal:

Brand: Frostie Diet Root Beer.

Origin: Detroit, MI.

Purchase Place: Lunds Grocery Store, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: Ehhh… it was OK. It tasted a little "chemically" right off the bat. It was trying to be part "smooth" and part "bite," and it wasn't pulling off either very well. It wasn't horrible, just not very amazing. Frostie "regular" Root Beer is much better, but this wasn't bad for a diet root beer. It just needed to pick a side (it needed bite or it needed to be smooth), and the slightly chemically flavor needs to go away.

Score: 5 out of 10. 

Christmas Sodas

I just finished up with a final late Christmas party with my family. We shared lots of food and some tasty sodas:

My family thought the Ozark Mountain Orange Cream tasted like the orange floats my Grandma used to make, and they thought the Durango Soda Company Zuberfizz Creamy Root Beer was so creamy that it tasted like a root beer float as well. Both went over well. (I originally gave the Orange Cream a 6 and the Root Beer an 8.5 in my reviews, and I still stick by those ratings.)

Happy New Year!